I was in the Moody Forest Preserve (owned and managed jointly by the DNR and the Nature Conservancy) near Baxley in Appling County on Saturday. We walked through a large swath of rare wiregrass and longleaf, loblolly and slash pines. Some of the longleafs had red-cockaded woodpecker (an endangered species) cavities. We saw numerous gopher tortoise (a state protected species) burrows.

Yellow jessamine was in spectacular bloom and made a stunning sight amongst the wire grass and pines. Also found birdfoot violet in bloom. Zebra swallowtail, cloudless sulfur and orange sulfur butterflies flitted about. A four-foot long black racer slithered away from us. We also heard a Bachma's sparrow singing in the distance.

With us was Janisse Ray, author of "Cracker Childhood" who helped save the Moody Forest. A nice day in the piney flatwoods of south Georgia. Driving to Baxley on U.S. 341 also was nice with yellow jessamine blooms high in the trees and redbuds in glorious bloom along the roadsides.

Of course, I know that wisteria is non-native and an invasive, but it is stunning now as it blooms along the highways of south Georgia.